On July 17 one of the last survivors of the pre-war French automotive industry died at the age of 101. Jean Panhard was the son of Paul Panhard who was a nephew of René Panhard. Together with Émile Levassor René Panhard, in 1890, started the production of cars at the already existing company Perin Panhard et Cie. which had been making wood sawing machines for several decades. When Jean entered the company as technical director in 1937, Panhard was offering luxurous models named Dynamic. During the Second World War Jean became convinced that the company could only survive when it would be able to offer a small car. In 1955 Jean Panhard was the man who signed the fusion agreement with Citroën and in 1967, as président-directeur général, he saw the last Panhard car coming from the production lines. Till 1981 he remained director at Panhard, which by then was fully dedicated to the making of armoured cars and other military vehicles. After his retirement Jean Panhard didn't leave the automobile scene at all. He was president of the Automobile Club de France, vice-president of the FIA and president of the Paris Salon. From 1976 he was engaged in the 'salvage' of the Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse. Still in 2010 Jean Panhard explained his interest in the history of the car and the conservation and valuation of the French automotive heritage in a column of a brochure of the AMAFL, the association of automobile museums in France. Last year, his hundredth birthday was celebrated at his home in Crécy la Chapelle: . His name will live on, not only by means of the many surviving Panhard-Levassors and Panhards but also, for example, thanks to this impressive wall decoration near the centre of Lille . |
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Jean Panhard, 1913-2014
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